Allonzo Trier providing solid early returns on 2-way contract at Summer League

LAS VEGAS — Before the tournament portion of Summer League play begins, let’s take a look back at the final day of pool play in Las Vegas and see how some Pac-12ers fared:

Allonzo Trier posts double-double in Knicks’ loss to Lakers

While Kevin Knox was wowing people at the Thomas and Mack Center and online with a 16-point quarter that saw him hit all four of his 3-point attempts, former Wildcat Allonzo Trier was steadily piling up numbers to the tune of 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 8-of-13 shooting in the New York Knicks’ 109-92 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night to close out pool play.

Trier was effective driving to the hoop, blowing past defenders to draw fouls or finish at the rim and converting in transition. His most impressive move came on a lefty lay-in to beat the first quarter buzzer. He also hit a nice step-back jumper and a contested right-wing 3-pointer in the second half.

Trier, who signed a two-way contract with the Knicks last week, is averaging a robust 17 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals through three games in Las Vegas.

Drew Eubanks starts for San Antonio Spurs in loss to Blazers

With Chimezie Metu being held out of Tuesday’s action, Oregon State basketball alum Drew Eubanks had the opportunity to start for the San Antonio Spurs, seeing 18:36 of court time in a 95-89 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. While he ended up with the worst plus/minus of the game at -18, Eubanks finished with six points, three rebounds and two blocks on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor.

Both of Eubanks’ blocks came early in the fourth quarter, and his layup midway through the fourth helped jump-start a 10-0 run that allowed the Spurs to get back into the game.

Through five games in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas combined this July, Eubanks is averaging 6.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on a solid 57 percent from the field. He’s looking like a G League/overseas guy to start his career (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that; this blogger’s hope is that one day Americans will respect how good top-level European ball is), and he has the skill to make an impact in a respected pro league at the very least.

Pac-12 Non-Rookie Shout-Out To…

Cuonzo Martin disciple Ivan Rabb, who put up 17 points and eight rebounds in the Memphis Grizzlies’ 94-80 loss to the Sacramento Kings. While he may not have been the mega-superstar at Cal that many expected (though he did average a double-double his sophomore season; NOT easy to do), Rabb showed some nice flashes his rookie season with the Grizz, averaging 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.3 minutes over the course of 36 games and five starts – that’s 14.1 points and 11.1 points for my per-36 heads out there. He also was very good in the G League for the Memphis Hustle, averaging 15.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 blocks in nearly 28 minutes per contest. Hustle head coach Glynn Cyprien told me that he thought Rabb was the best big man in the G League when he was down on assignment.